Colorado Agriculture Under Siege from Regulation and Rewilding

By Rachael Wright | The Denver Gazette

Janie VanWinkle is contemplating something she never thought she’d ever consider — selling the family ranch after four generations of living and working in Colorado.

“The political environment is so toxic that if we do speak up at all, it falls on deaf ears,” said VanWinkle, a Western Slope rancher. “This is no longer an agriculture-friendly environment or atmosphere. Five years ago, I could never imagine having this conversation with my family.”

Colorado’s agricultural industry is the state’s second-largest economic driver, accounting for more than $47 billion in activity and employing more than 195,000 people. The export of Colorado cattle as of 2024 generated nearly $4.5 billion, making Colorado one of the 10 producers in the nation.

Those figures are not lost on Gov. Jared Polis, who quickly jumped into the tariffs debate, saying President Donald Trump’s actions would negatively affect ranchers in Colorado. In an interview with POLITICO in February, the governor stressed that tariffs would hurt ranchers and farmers, while noting that beef is Colorado’s largest export by far.

At the time, many regarded Trump’s tariffs declarations as a bluff. Recently, the president stressed that countries that have still not negotiated a deal with the U.S. would now face tariffs of up to 25%. Japan and South Korea, for example, have been listed as countries that have yet to reach an agreement with the Trump administration.

While the Colorado governor framed his criticism of Trump’s tariffs as damaging to livestock growers, many in the agriculture community see Polis promoting policies that are anathema to their interests.

Others insist his administration has hunkered down to help ranching and farming operations.

Mark Harvey, a member of the Colorado State Land Commission, said Polis has worked to understand the challenges of Colorado’s rural communities and help them prosper.

“This goes back to when he first took office. He and his team wrote the Rural Economic Blueprint in 2019, with seven specific areas to work on. He’s worked on bringing high speed Internet to sparsely populated areas, developing renewable energy, which brings jobs to rural communities, mitigating the high cost of health insurance, repairing country roads, and adding to the gross revenue of farms and ranches,” said Harvey, who spoke in his personal — not official — capacity.

“I think he understands that agriculture is the main economic driver in rural economies and he and his team have worked on incentives and policies to advance farming and ranching,” he told Colorado Politics.

Polis, who carried counties like Grand and Garfield and was the first Democrat to win the 3rd Congressional District since John Salazar in 2008, disputed any assertion that rural Coloradans feel attacked or left behind by his administration.

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